System and method for providing information, and recording medium

ABSTRACT

To provide a system and a method for providing information and a recording medium, by which communications cost and network traffic are reduced in a system which provides a plurality of pages including successive contents via a communication network. A story provider site  100  generates user ID for identifying a reader terminal  300  and reader information which includes information representing a last page, and transmits web page data segments based on the reader information together with the user ID to the reader terminal  300  concerned. The reader terminal  300  requests the pages with transmitting the user ID. The story provider site  100  transmits web page data segments based on the reader information corresponding to the returned user ID. The story provider site  100  updates the reader information based on the transmitted web page.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Reissue application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/957,284, filed Sep.20, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,209,944 granted Apr. 24, 2007. U.S. Ser.No. 09/957,284 claims the benefit of Japanese Application No.2000-293387, filed Sep. 27, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and a method for providinginformation and a recording medium, suitable for providing contents ofreadings via communications networks.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are services for providing the contents of readings such as novelsand serial columns to terminals (such as personal computers) viacommunications networks such as the Internet. Users of the terminals(that is, readers) operate web browser to establish sessions with theservice provider's server for obtaining desired HTML based web pagesrepresenting the contents of the readings.

The readers must establish plural sessions when obtaining a full-lengthnovel, because it requires much data. In case of providing serial columnor novel, the story may be divided into plural sections, and those areuploaded one after another constantly. The readers also require pluralsessions to obtain the contents of such the readings because it isimpossible to download all sections at once.

Such the services generally provide the readers with index pages atbeginning of each session. The index page may list indexes of availablecontents. In case of full-length novel, for example, the index page maylist indexes of chapters, and a reader selects a chapter which followsto a chapter he/she read last time. The readers intend to forget whichwas the last chapter when he/she continues reading for the first time ina long while. Under such the situation, the service providers generallyprovide all pages at each session. It is helpful for avoiding the aboveproblem, but increases connection time for downloading the pages. Thus,it increases network traffic and the readers' telecommunication costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the present invention features a system for providinginformation being connected to a communications network, whichselectively provides web page data segments representing a plurality ofpages which include successive description via the communicationsnetwork, in accordance with web page data segments provided last time.

The System Comprises:

a web page storage unit which stores the web page data segments;

an ID information managing unit which receives a request for the webpages, generates ID information for identifying the source of therequest and additional information representing a last page representedby the web page data segment which has been transmitted to the requestsource, and stores the generated ID information and additionalinformation so that the ID information and additional information areassociated with each other;

a web page providing unit which retrieves the web page data segmentscorresponding to the additional information from the web page storageunit, and transmits the retrieved web page data segments to the requestsource together with the corresponding ID information;

a provision progress managing unit which updates the additionalinformation if the web page providing unit transmits the web page datasegments; and

an ID information receiver which receives the ID information returnedfrom the request source.

In this case, the web page providing unit further transmits the web pagedata segments based on the additional information corresponding to theID information received by the ID information receiver, that is, the webpage providing unit provides the web pages corresponding to the reader'sreading progress.

A second aspect of the present invention features a method for providinginformation by which an information providing apparatus selectivelyprovides a plurality of terminals with web page data segmentsrepresenting a plurality of pages including successive description, inaccordance with web page data segments provided last time.

The Method Comprises the Steps of:

generating ID information for identifying the terminal in response torequest for providing web pages from the terminal, and of generatingadditional information representing a last page represented by the webpage data segments which has been provided to the terminal;

transmitting web page data segments corresponding to the additionalinformation together with the corresponding ID information to theterminal which requested the web pages; and

receiving the ID information from the terminal together with the pagerequest;

transmitting web page data segments to the terminal based on theadditional information corresponding to the received ID information.

The method further updates the additional information in a case wherethe web page data segments representing a page corresponding to theadditional information are transmitted to the terminal, and/or in a casewhere the web page data segments representing pages following to thepage corresponding to the additional information are transmitted to theterminal. Thus, the web pages are provided to the terminal in accordancewith the reader's reading progress.

A third aspect of the present invention features a system for providinginformation which comprises an information providing apparatus beingconnected to a communications network, and a plurality of terminals eachof which receives web page data segments representing a plurality ofpages including successive description from the apparatus via thecommunications network, wherein

the terminal may comprise:

a web page browser which receives web page data segments and IDinformation for identifying the terminal from the information providingapparatus, and outputs the received web page data segments; and

an additional information generator which generates additionalinformation which designates a last page of the pages output by the webpage browser, and transmits the generated additional information to theinformation providing apparatus together with the ID information whenrequesting the web pages, and

the information providing apparatus may comprise:

a storage unit which stores the ID information and additionalinformation provided by the terminal so that the ID information andadditional information are associated with each other; and

a transmitter which transmits the web page data segments to the terminaldesignated by the ID information corresponding to the additionalinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These objects and other objects and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent upon reading of the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a story providing systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of a storyprovider site shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a diagram exemplifying the contents of a reader informationfile in a reader information database shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3B is a diagram exemplifying the contents of a story file table ina story document database shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the process carried out by thestory providing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the process for “continue or repeatall” carried out in the process flow shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the process for “initialregistration” carried out in the process flow shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the process for “designated pagerequest” carried out in the process flow shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the process for “page designation”carried out in the process flow shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the process for “sessiontermination” carried out in the process flow shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the process for “deadlinemanagement” according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram exemplifying a page to be displayed on the readerterminal shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12A is a diagram exemplifying a page transmitted during the processfor “page designation”; and

FIG. 12B is a diagram exemplifying a page transmitted during the processfor “session termination”.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An embodiment according to the present invention will now be describedwith reference to accompanying drawings. The following embodiment isintended to illustrate the present invention, not to limit the scope ofthe present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a story providing systemaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

A story providing system 1 according to the embodiment of the presentinvention comprises a story provider site 100, a communications network200, and a plurality of reader terminals 300-1 to 300-n.

A business for story providing service according to the embodiment runsthe story provider site 100 to provide text data (novels, columns, andthe like) and image data (illustrations, and the like) via thecommunications network 200.

The communications network 200 may be the Internet which transfers thetext data and the image data provided by the story provider site 100. Inthe present embodiment, the Internet is employed as the communicationsnetwork 200, therefore, hereinafter it is referred to as Internet 200.

Each of the reader terminals 300-1 to 300-n may be a personal computer,PDA (Personal Data Assistant), a mobile phone, and/or the like which issuitable for data communications. Such the reader terminal 300 receivesthe text data and the image data provided by the story provider site 100via the Internet 200, and displays information represented by thereceived data.

The detailed structure of the story provider site 100 will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagramschematically showing the structure of the story provider site 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the story provider site 100 comprises a web server10, a user ID storage unit 20, a story provision managing unit 30,databases 40, and a web page storage unit 50, which are interconnectedto each other via a local network.

The web server 10 may be a data processor such as a workstationcomprising at least a control unit, a memory, and a CCU (CommunicationsControl Unit), and is a main server in the story provider site 100. Theweb server 1 includes a user identifier 11, a user ID issuer 12, and aweb page finder 13. The control unit of the web server 10 may be a CPU(Central Processing Unit), and the memory stores programs beingcompatible with the interaction interface such as CGI (Common GatewayInterface). The control unit executes such the programs to activate thestory provision managing unit 30 in accordance with commands given bythe reader terminals 300 through the Internet 200, thus, necessaryinformation sets are collected and processed. The control unit thencreates web pages including thus collected information, and provides theweb pages to the reader terminals 300 through the Internet 200.

The user identifier 11 refers to information stored in the user IDstorage unit 20 to determine whether a visitor is a new comer or aregistered user.

The user ID issuer 12 issues ID information (Cookie, Subscribe-ID, orthe like) to the reader terminal 300 whose user is a new comer.

The web page finder 13 retrieves web pages to be transmitted to thereader terminal 300 from the web page storage unit 50. The web pagesstored in the web page storage unit 50 represent the contents of thestories to be provided.

The user ID storage unit 20 may be a rewritable storage unit such as ahard disk drive, which stores information representing user ID issued bythe user ID issuer 12.

The story provision managing unit 30 may be a data processor such as aworkstation which includes at least a control unit and a storage unit.The story provision managing unit 30 comprises a reader managing unit31, a provision progress managing unit 32, and a deadline managing unit33. The story provision managing unit 30 retrieves the contents(document files) to be provided in accordance with the destinationreader. The control unit of the story provision managing unit 30executes predetermined programs being stored in the storage unit, tocontrol the story provision managing unit 30, thus, carrying out thelater described processes.

The reader managing unit 31 controls the provision progress managingunit 32 and the deadline managing unit 33 to coordinate the data in thereader information file stored in the reader information database 41.

The provision progress managing unit 32 manages data corresponding to“Last Page”, “Continuation Page”, “Bookmark Flag” and “Repeat Flag” inthe reader information file, to coordinate story provision progress foreach reader.

The deadline managing unit 33 manages information representing date andtime in “Session Termination” in the reader information file, tocoordinate accessible period given to each reader.

The databases 40 may be a rewritable storage units such as hard diskdrives, which include the reader information database 41 and the storydocument database 42.

The reader information database 41 stores the reader information file.FIG. 3A shows an example of the reader information file. As shown inFIG. 3A, the reader information file includes the records correspondingto user ID issued by the user ID issuer 12. Each record includes items“Last Page”, “Continuation Page”, “Bookmark Flag”, “Repeat Flag”, and“Session Termination”. “Last Page” represents file name of the web pagetransmitted to the corresponding reader last time (at the last session).“Continuation Page” represents file name of a web page which should betransmitted to the corresponding reader next time (at the next session).“Bookmark Flag” is a flag representing whether the corresponding readersent “Bookmark” command (described later) at the end of the lastsession. “Repeat” flag is a flag representing whether the correspondingreader sent “Repeat All” command at the end of the last session.“Session Termination” represents date and time when the last session wasterminated.

The story document database 42 stores story file tables prepared foreach story. FIG. 3B exemplifies one of the story file tables. As shownin FIG. 3B, the story file table stores file names of files whichconsist web pages for one story (for example, a novel).

The web page storage unit 50 may be a rewritable storage unit such as ahard disk drive, and stores web page files representing stories (novels,columns, etc.) to be provided by the story provider site 100.

Process carried out in the story providing system 1 according to thepresent embodiment will now be described with reference to a flowchartshown in FIG. 4.

When the story provider site 100 receives request information requestingprovision of story documents from the reader terminal 300 via theInternet 200 (step S101), the user identifier 11 determines whether therequest information includes user ID issued by the user ID issuer 12(step S102). More precisely, once the user ID issuer 12 issues user IDinformation (such as, cookie) to the reader terminal 300, the user IDinformation stays in the reader terminal 300. And the reader terminal300 transmits the request information with the given user ID informationwhen the reader terminal 300 accesses the story provider site 100.

If it is determined that the request information includes the user IDinformation, the user identifier 11 refers to the user ID information inthe user ID storage unit 20 to determine whether the user ID is valid ornot (step S103). In this embodiment, since the user ID information of auser whose deadline has passed will be deleted from the user ID storageunit 20 in “Deadline Management” process (described later), the useridentifier 11 regards the visitor as a new comer when the received userID information does not exist in the user ID storage unit 20.

If it is determined at step S103 that the user ID is valid (step S103:Yes), the user identifier 11 recognizes that the visitor is theregistered reader. In this case, the story provider site 100 carries out“Continue or Repeat All” process. The process will now be described withreference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 5.

The reader managing unit 31 accesses the reader information database 41to read out reader information corresponding to the received user IDinformation (step S201).

The provision progress managing unit 32 determines whether the bookmarkflag in the read-out user information is set to “1” or not (step S202).The set bookmark flag represents that the reader terminal 300 of thereader concerned sent “Bookmark” command to the story provider site 100at the end of the last session. The “Bookmark” command represents thatthe reader intends to read continuous pages at the next session. In acase where the bookmark flag is “1”, the provision progress managingunit 32 transfers the file name in “Last Page” to “Continuation Page”(step S203) and reset the bookmark flag to “0”.

On the contrary, if it is determined at step S202 that the bookmark flagis “0”, the provision progress managing unit 31 further determineswhether the repeat flag is set to “1” or not (step S205). The set repeatflag represents that the reader terminal 300 of the reader concernedsent “Repeat All” command to the story provider site 100 at the end ofthe last session. The “Repeat All” command represents that the readerintends to read the story again from its head page at the next session.In a case where the repeat flag is “1”, the provision progress managingunit 32 accesses the story document database 42 to obtain file name ofthe head page of the story, and stores the obtained file name in “LastPage” (step S206). And the provision progress managing unit 32 resetsthe repeat flag to “0” (step S207).

Then the web page finder 13 searches the web page storage unit 50 for anHTML file corresponding to the file name recorded at step S203 or S206,and obtains it. The web page finder 13 transmits the obtained HTML fileto the reader terminal 300 of the reader concerned (step S208).

The reader managing unit 31 stores the file name of the web pagetransmitted at step S208 in “Last Page” of the reader information filein the reader information database 41 (step S209), and terminates theprocess.

If it is determined at step S102 that the visitor is a new comer (stepS102: No), or if it is determined at step S103 that the user ID isinvalid (step S103: No), the user ID issuer 12 generates user IDinformation and registers it in the user ID storage unit 20 (step S104).Then, the process for “Initial Registration” is carried out (step S300).

The initial registration process will now be described with reference toa flowchart shown in FIG. 6.

The reader managing unit 31 creates a new record in the readerinformation file being stored in the reader information database 41(step S301). The new record is prepared for the user ID issued at stepS104.

Then, the web page finder 13 accesses the web page storage unit 50 toretrieve an index page as shown in the upper section of FIG. 11. Theindex page represents a contents table of a story desired by the readerconcerned. And the web page finder 13 transmits the retrieved web pagetogether with the user ID to the reader terminal 300 (step S302). Asshown in FIG. 11 (upper section), the index page includes hyperlinksrepresenting chapters of the story. Each of the hyperlinks includes URL(Uniform Resource Locator) information invisibly. When the reader clickson the hyperlink, the corresponding URL information is transmitted tothe story provider site 100.

When the story provider site 100 receives the URL information whichdesignates the web page desired by the reader (step S303: Yes), the webpage finder 13 retrieves the web page concerned from the web pagestorage unit 50, and transmits it to the reader terminal 300 (stepS304).

The provision progress managing unit 32 obtains information representingfile name of the web page transmitted at step S304. The provisionprogress managing unit 32 accesses the reader information database 41 toregister the file name information in “Last Page” of the readerinformation file (step S305), and terminates the initial registrationprocess.

The process flow returns to the process flow shown in FIG. 4.

If the story provider site 100 receives URL information which designatesa chapter desired by the reader (step S105: Yes), the story providersite 100 carries out the process for “Designated Page Request” (stepS400).

The designated page request process will now be described with referenceto a flowchart shown in FIG. 7.

The web page finder 13 retrieves a web page corresponding to the URLreceived at step S105, and transmits it to the reader terminal 300 (stepS401).

The provision progress managing unit 32 obtains information representingfile name of the web page transmitted at step S401. The provisionprogress managing unit 32 accesses the reader information database 41 toregister the file name in “Last Page” of the reader information file(step S402), and terminates the designated page request process.

A case where the reader terminal 300 transmits a predetermined command,instead of URL for the next page (step S105: No), will now be described.

When the story providing site 100 receives a command (step S106: Yes),the provision progress managing unit 32 determines the type of thecommand, “Page Designation” command or a “Session Termination” command(step S107).

If the received command is the “Page Designation” command (step S107:Yes), the process for “Page Designation” is carried out (step S500). Thepage designation process will now be described with reference to aflowchart shown in FIG. 8.

The provision progress managing unit 32 determines whether the commandrequests the previous page or the next page (step S501). See a lowersection of FIG. 11 exemplifying a web page displayed on the readerterminal 300. As illustrated, the web page has a “NEXT” button. If theuser clicks on this button, the command requesting the next page istransmitted to the story provider site 100. The web page also has a“PREV.” (=previous) button. Upon clicking on this button, the commandrequesting the previous page is transmitted to the story provider site100. Hereinafter, the command requesting the next page will be referredto as “command N”, and the command requesting the previous page will bereferred to as “command P”.

If the received command is the command N (step S501: Yes), the provisionprogress managing unit 32 accesses the story document database 42 torefer to the story file table of the story concerned, to determinewhether the page provided last time (“Last Page”) is the final page ofthe story or not (step S502).

If it is determined at step S502 that the page provided last time is thefinal page of the story (step S502: Yes), the provision progressmanaging unit 32 terminates the process because there is no page to beprovided.

In a case where the page provided last time is not the final page of thestory, the provision progress managing unit 32 obtains informationrepresenting file name of a page following to the page represented bythe file name in “Last Page” (step S503).

The web page finder 13 retrieves a web page corresponding to the filename obtained at step S503, and transmit the retrieved web page to thereader terminal 300 (step S504).

The provision progress managing unit 32 registers the file name of theweb page transmitted at step S504 in “Last Page” of the readerinformation file (step S505), and terminates the process.

In a case where the received command is the command P (step 506: Yes),the provision progress managing unit 32 refers to the story file tableof the story concerned, to determine whether the page represented by thefile name in “Last Page” is a head page of the story or not (step S507).

If it is determined that the page provided last time is the head page ofthe story (step S507: Yes), the provision progress managing unit 32terminates the process, because there is no page to be provided.

In a case where the page provided last time is not the head page of thestory (step S507: No), the provision progress managing unit 32 refers tothe story file table to obtain information representing file name of apage previous to the page represented by the file name in “Last Page”(step S508). The web page finder 13 retrieves a web page correspondingto the obtained file name from the web page storage unit 50, andtransmits the obtained web page to the reader terminal 300 (step 509).In this case, the provision progress managing unit 32 does not overwriteany information in the reader information file, and terminates theprocess.

In a case where the received command is a command for requesting sessiontermination (step S107: No), the process for “Session Termination” iscarried out (step S600). The session termination process will now bedescribed with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 9.

The command for requesting session termination (hereinafter, referred toas “command ST”) is classified into “Bookmark” and “Repeat All”. Theprovision progress managing unit 32 determines whether the receivedcommand ST is “Bookmark” or “Repeat All” (step S601).

See FIG. 12A or 12B exemplifying web pages displayed on the readerterminal 300. As illustrated, the web pages include “Bookmark” button.When the “Bookmark” button is clicked on by the user, the command“Bookmark” is transmitted to the story provider site 100. The web pagesalso include “Repeat All” button. In the same manner, upon clicking onthe “Repeat All” button, the command “Repeat All” is transmitted. Thecommand “Bookmark” represents that the reader intends to terminate thepresent session, and continue the reading next time (at the nextsession). On the other hand, the command “Repeat All” represents thatthe reader intends to terminate the present session, but read the storyagain from the beginning (chapter 1 or head page) next time (at the intosession).

In a case where the received command ST is “Bookmark” (step S601: Yes),the provision progress managing unit 32 transfers the file name in “LastPage” of the reader information file to “Continuation Page”, and setsthe bookmark flag to “1” (step S602). Note that the provision progressmanaging unit 32 may set file name representing a web page following tothe web page transmitted at the end of the last session to “ContinuationPage”, instead of the file name in “Last Page”.

In a case where the received command ST is “Repeat All” (step S601: No),the provision progress managing unit 32 sets the repeat flag to “1” inthe reader information file (step S604).

After the reader information file is thus updated (step S602 or S604),the web server 10 terminates the session with the reader terminal 300concerned (step S605).

Upon terminating the session at step S605, the deadline managing unit 33records the present date/time in “Session Termination” of the readerinformation file (step S606), and terminates the process.

The process for “Deadline Management” carried out in the story providingsystem 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will nowbe described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 10.

In this embodiment, the deadline management process is carried outconstantly at predetermined intervals (timings) (step S701).

The deadline managing unit 33 obtains information (date/time) in“Session Termination” from the first record (record No. 1) of the readerinformation file (steps S702 and S703).

The deadline managing unit 33 determines whether a first predeterminedtime period T1 (hereinafter, referred to as “time period T1”) has lapsedsince the date/time obtained at step S703 (step S704). The time periodT1 may represent, for example, 1 month.

If it is determined at step S704 that the time period T1 has lapsed(step 5704: Yes), the deadline managing unit 33 further determineswhether a second predetermined time period T2 (hereinafter, referred toas “time period T2”) has lapsed since the date/time obtained at step5703 (step S705). The time period T2 may represent, for example, 3months.

If it is determined at step S705 that the time period T2 has not lapsed(step S705: No), the deadline managing unit 33 recognizes that thereader corresponding to the user ID for the record concerned has notaccessed the story provider site 100 for over 1 month but within 3months. Since the reader may forget which page was the last page, thedeadline managing unit 33 sets the repeat flag to “1” in the recordconcerned (step S706) in order to provide the head page to the reader atthe next session.

On the contrary, if it is determined at step S705 that the time periodhas lapsed (step S705: Yes), the deadline managing unit 33 recognizesthat the reader concerned has not accessed the story provider site 100for over 3 months. Since an assumption that the reader who has notaccesses the story provider site 100 for such the long time will notaccesses the story provider site 100 may be reasonable, the deadlinemanaging unit 33 deletes the user ID stored in the record concerned andthe user ID storage unit 20 (step S707).

The above “repeat flag setting” or “user ID deletion” is carried out foreach record in the reader information file (step S708, S709: No). Whenthe task for the final record is done (step S709: Yes), the deadlinemanaging unit 33 terminates the process.

Though the story provider site 100 updates file names in “Last Page” and“Continuation Page” for identifying the page which was transmitted lasttime in the above described embodiment, such the update may be done bythe reader terminal 300. In this case, the reader terminal 300 obtainsfile name of the final page at the end of the session, and transmits itto the story provider site 100 together with the command ST. The storyprovider site 100 will transmit the following page at the next sessionbased on the file name provided by the reader terminal 300.

In the above described embodiment, the reader selects “Bookmark” or“Repeat All.” at the end of the session, however, the story providingsystem 1 may allows the readers to select “Bookmark” or “Repeat All” atthe beginning of the session. In this case, the story provider site 100may transfer the lastly provided page at the beginning of a new sessiontogether with the “Repeat All” button. If the reader intends to continuethe reading, he/she may just designate “Next” button, while designating“Repeat All” button if he/she intends to read the story again from thehead page.

The above described embodiment has exemplified the document fileswritten in HTML. However, any languages which are compatible with thedata communications through the Internet are applicable to the presentinvention. For example, since languages such as WML (Wireless MarkupLanguage) and compact HTML may be suitable for a case where the readerterminal 300 is an internet connectable mobile phone or the like, thestory provider site 100 may create the document files written in suchthe languages. Moreover, the story may be distributed by e-mails,instead of the web page.

As for the deletion of user ID for the reader who has not accessed thestory provider site 100 for a long time, the deadline managing unit 33may remains the user ID stored in the user ID storage unit 20.

A general computer system is applicable to the story provider site 100and the reader terminals 300, instead of the purpose specific system.Such the general computers may act as the story provider site 100 andthe reader terminals 300 by, for example, installing programs for theabove described processes from a recording medium (a flexible disk, aCD-ROM, or the like), or the like. In a case where the OS (OperatingSystem) has necessary part for realizing the processes or collaborateswith the application program(s) for realizing the processes, therecording medium may store only the program sets other than the OS.

The programs for realizing the process may be distributed via thetelecommunications network. In this case, the program may besuperimposed on a carrier wave signal. Such the program may be uploadedto the BBS (Bulletin Board System) or the like for the distribution.

Thus distributed programs may be invoked as well as the otherapplication programs under control of the OS to realize the aboveprocesses.

According to the information providing system of the present invention,an information providing system prepares ID information (such as cookie)and additional information representing the last page and transmits themto a terminal used by a new comer user together with web page data. Theterminal stores the given ID information, and transmits it whenrequesting pages. The information providing system updates theadditional information so as to represent the last page provided inresponse to the request from the terminal. A page following to the pagedesignated by the updated additional information or pages following tothe page designated by the updated additional information will beprovided to the terminal at the next session. Thus, the informationproviding system provides the user who continues the reading with thecontinuous pages. In other words, the information providing systemmemorizes which page the reader read the last time, and provides thecontinuous pages at the next session. According to this feature, theusers are released from downloading unnecessary pages. It is helpful forreducing connection time and network traffic.

Moreover, the information providing system provides a user who has notaccessed the information provider site over a predetermined time period(for example, 1 month) with a head page of the story again. According tothis structure, it is able to provide the story providing service inconsideration of the situation where such the users intend to forgetwhich page was provided last time.

Furthermore, the information providing system deletes (cancels) userinformation and user ID for a user who has not accessed the informationprovider site for a longer time period (for example, 3 months), becauseit is reasonable that such the user will access the site no more. Thisstructure is helpful for efficient use of storage for storing; user IDinformation. It is further suitable for a case where, for example, thedocuments are updated (changed) regularly or irregularly, becausesetting the deadline for using the service may promote the reading.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information providing system which isconnected to a communications network, and which individually providesweb page data segments representing a plurality of pages which includesuccessive description to respective individual user terminals atrespective individual timings via the communications network, saidsystem comprising: a web page storage unit which stores the web pagedata segments; an ID information managing unit which stores IDinformation corresponding to each of the user terminals and additionalinformation corresponding to each of the user terminals, said additionalinformation comprising information indicating a web page data segmentmost recently transmitted to the corresponding user terminal; a web pageproviding unit which, in response to designation of continuous provisionby one of the user terminals, retrieves at least one web page datasegment subsequent to the most recently transmitted web page datasegment from the web page storage unit, based on the additionalinformation stored in the ID information managing unit corresponding tothe user terminal, and individually transmits the retrieved at least oneweb page data segment to the user terminal at an individual timing basedon the ID information corresponding to the user terminal; and anadditional information managing unit which, when the web page providingunit transmits the at least one web page data segment following the mostrecently transmitted web page data segment, updates the additionalinformation corresponding to the user terminal to indicate a lasttransmitted web page data segment as the most recently transmitted webpage data segment; wherein the additional information further comprisesdate/time information representing a date and time when the additionalinformation was last updated; and wherein, if the designation ofcontinuous provision by the user terminal is made after a predeterminedtime has elapsed after the date and time indicated by the date/timeinformation, the at least one web page data segment transmitted to theuser terminal comprises a plurality of sequential said web page datasegments beginning at a head page of the web page data segments andextending to a web page data segment that is a predetermined number ofweb page data segments subsequent to the most recently transmitted webpage data segment indicated by the additional information correspondingto the user terminal.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein theweb page storage unit stores file name data corresponding to the webpage data segments, and the additional information includes file namedata of the web page data segment; and wherein the web page providingunit, in response to a designation of repeat transmission from the userterminal, transmits at least a head page of the web page data segmentsbased on the file name data in the additional information to the userterminal.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the web pageproviding unit deletes at least one of the ID information and theadditional information corresponding to a user terminal, if the userterminal does not issue a request for the web page data segments for apredetermined time after the date and time indicated by the date/timeinformation.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein: the web pagestorage unit stores file name data corresponding to the web page datasegments, and the additional information includes file name data of theweb page data segment; and the web page providing unit, in response to arequest from one of the user terminals for one of a next page and aprevious page, retrieves a corresponding web page data segment from theweb page storage unit based on the file name of the web page datasegment, and transmits the retrieved web page data segment to the userterminal based on the corresponding ID information; and the additionalinformation managing unit updates, in response to a designation of anend of reading by the user terminal, the additional information toindicate the most recently transmitted web page data segment, and storesthe updated additional information.
 5. An information providing methodfor individually providing web page data segments representing aplurality of pages including successive description from an informationproviding apparatus to a plurality of respective individual userterminals at respective individual timings, said method comprising:storing the web page data segments; storing ID information correspondingto each of the user terminals and additional information correspondingto each of the user terminals, said additional information comprisinginformation indicating a web page data segment most recently transmittedto the corresponding user terminal; retrieving, in response todesignation of continuous provision by one of the user terminals, atleast one stored web page data segment subsequent to the most recentlytransmitted web page data segment, based on the stored additionalinformation corresponding to the user terminal, and individuallytransmitting the retrieved at least one web page data segment to theuser terminal at an individual timing based on the ID informationcorresponding to the user terminal; and updating, when the at least oneweb page data segment following the most recently transmitted web pagedata segment is transmitted, the additional information corresponding tothe user terminal to indicate a last transmitted web page data segmentas the most recently transmitted web page data segment; wherein theadditional information further comprises date/time informationrepresenting a date and time when the additional information was lastupdated; and wherein, if the designation of continuous provision by theuser terminal is made after a predetermined time has elapsed after thedate and time indicated by the date/time information, the at least oneweb page data segment transmitted to the user terminal comprises aplurality of sequential said web page data segments beginning at a headpage of the web page data segments and extending to a web page datasegment that is a predetermined number of web page data segmentssubsequent to the most recently transmitted web page data segmentindicated by the additional information corresponding to the userterminal.
 6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising storingfile name data of web page data corresponding to the web page datasegments, said additional information including file name data of theweb page data segment; wherein, in response to a designation of repeattransmission by the user terminal, at least a head page of the web pagedata segments is transmitted to the user terminal based on the file namedata in the additional information.
 7. The method according to claim 5,wherein at least one of stored the ID information and the storedadditional information corresponding to a user terminal is deleted, ifthe user terminal does not issue a request for the web page datasegments for a predetermined time after the date and time indicated bythe date/time information.
 8. An information providing systemcomprising: an information providing apparatus connected to acommunications network; and a plurality of terminals each of whichindividually receives, at respective individual timings, web page datasegments representing a plurality of pages including successivedescription from the apparatus via the communications network; whereineach said terminal comprises: a web page browser which receives the webpage data segments and ID information for identifying the terminal fromthe information providing apparatus, and which outputs the received webpage data segments; and an additional information generator whichgenerates additional information that designates a most recentlyoutputted web page data segment outputted by the web page browser, andwhich transmits the generated additional information to the informationproviding apparatus together with the ID information when requesting atleast one said web page data segment; and wherein the informationproviding apparatus comprises: a storage unit which stores the IDinformation and the additional information transmitted by the terminalin association with each other; and a transmitter which, in response toa request for the at least one said web page data segment from one saiduser terminal, individually transmits at least one web page data segmentsubsequent to the most recently outputted web page data segment to theterminal designated by the ID information at an individual timing, basedon the stored additional information corresponding to the user terminal;wherein the additional information further comprises date/timeinformation representing a date and time when the additional informationwas last updated; and wherein, if a designation of continuous provisionof the web page data segments is made by the user terminal after apredetermined time has elapsed after the date and time indicated by thedate/time information, the at least one web page data segmenttransmitted to the user terminal comprises a plurality of sequentialsaid web page data segments beginning at a head page of the web pagedata segments and extending to a web page data segment that is apredetermined number of web page data segments subsequent to the mostrecently transmitted web page data segment indicated by the additionalinformation corresponding to the user terminal.
 9. An informationproviding system for individually providing ordered web page datasegments representing successive sections of a document to a respectiveindividual user terminal at a respective individual timing via acommunication network, the system comprising: a web page storage sectionwhich stores the ordered web page data segments; an ID informationmanaging section which, when a request is received from the userterminal, (i) generates ID information to identify the user terminal ifthe user terminal is a new user terminal, (ii) generates additionalinformation for tracking a web page data segment most recentlytransmitted to the user terminal, and (iii) stores the ID information inassociation with the additional information; a web page providingsection which retrieves at least one web page data segment designated bythe new user terminal from the web page storage section, and whichindividually transmits the retrieved web page data segment to the userterminal at an individual timing together with the generated IDinformation; a provision progress managing section which updates theadditional information to identify a final web page data segment of thetransmitted at least one web page data segment as the most recentlytransmitted web page data segment; and an ID information receivingsection which, when the user terminal is a returning user terminal,receives the ID information from the user terminal which was generatedby the ID information managing section; wherein when the user terminalis a returning user terminal and the request from the returning userterminal includes an instruction to retrieve at least one web page datasegment following the most recently transmitted web page data segment,the web page providing section: accesses the stored additionalinformation corresponding to the ID information received from the userterminal, retrieves the at least one web page data segment following themost recently transmitted web page data segment identified in theaccessed additional information, and transmits the retrieved at leastone web page data segment; wherein the additional information furthercomprises date/time information representing a date and time when theadditional information was last updated; and wherein, if a designationof continuous provision of the web page data segments is made by thereturning user terminal after a predetermined time has elapsed after thedate and time indicated by the date/time information, the at least oneweb page data segment transmitted to the user terminal comprises aplurality of sequential said web page data segments beginning at a headpage of the web page data segments and extending to a web page datasegment that is a predetermined number of web page data segmentssubsequent to the most recently transmitted web page data segmentindicated by the additional information corresponding to the userterminal.
 10. An information providing system which is connected to acommunications network, and which provides page data segmentsrepresenting a plurality of pages which include successive descriptionvia the communication network, said system comprising: a page datastorage unit which stores the page data segments; an ID informationmanaging unit which generates: (i) ID information representing arequester in response to a request for page data transmission, and (ii)additional information corresponding to the requester indicating a pagedata segment most recently transmitted to the requestor and a date andtime when the most recently transmitted page data segment wastransmitted, and which stores the generated ID information andadditional information; a page providing unit which retrieves, from thepage data storage unit, at least one page data segment in accordancewith the page data segment indicated by the additional information, andwhich transmits the retrieved at least one page data segment to therequester together with the ID information representing the requester,wherein if the request for page data transmission is received apredetermined amount of time after the date and time indicated by theadditional information, the at least one page data segment transmittedto the requester comprises a plurality of sequential said page datasegments beginning at a head page of the page data segments andextending to a page data segment that is a predetermined number of webpage data segments subsequent to the most recently transmitted page datasegment indicated by the additional information; and a status managingunit which updates the additional information when a page data segmentsubsequent to the most recently transmitted page data segment istransmitted, and which cancels at least one of the additionalinformation and the ID information corresponding to the requester if norequest for page data transmission is received from the requester for apredetermined amount of time after the date and time indicated by theadditional information.
 11. An information providing system, the systemcomprising: a first storage unit configured to store a web page datasegment; a second storage unit configured to store ID informationcorresponding to an individual user or individual user terminal; adatabase configured to store reader information, wherein the readerinformation comprises an indication of a last transmitted web page datasegment; and date/time information representing a date and time when thereader information was last updated; a providing unit configured toretrieve the web page data segment from the first storage unit inresponse to a command from the individual user terminal; and transmitthe retrieved web page data segment to the individual user terminal; anda management unit configured to update the reader information toindicate a new last transmitted web page data segment; wherein, upon astart of a new session, if a predetermined time period has lapsed sincethe date and time when the reader information was last updated, theproviding unit transmits to the individual user terminal a plurality ofsequential web page data segments beginning at a head page of the webpage data segments and extending to a web page data segment that is apredetermined number of web page data segments subsequent to a mostrecently transmitted web page data segment indicated by the date/timeinformation.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first storage unitis a web page storage unit, and wherein the second storage unit is auser ID storage unit.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the web pagedata segment is a web page data segment immediately subsequent to thelast transmitted web page data segment.
 14. The system of claim 11,wherein the providing unit is configured to retrieve and transmit a webpage data segment subsequent to the last transmitted web page datasegment in response to a corresponding command received from theindividual user terminal.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein theproviding unit is configured to transmit the retrieved web page datasegment based at least in part on the ID information corresponding tothe individual user terminal.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein themanagement unit is configured to update the reader information upontransmission of the retrieved web page data segment by the providingunit.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first storage unit isconfigured to store file name data corresponding to the web page datasegment, and wherein the file name data includes the ID informationcorresponding to the individual user or the individual user terminal.18. The system of claim 17, wherein the providing unit is configured totransmit the head page of the web page data segment based at least inpart on the stored file name data of the web page data segment.
 19. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the providing unit is configured to deleteat least a portion of the stored ID information corresponding to theindividual user or the individual user terminal if the individual useror the individual user terminal does not issue a request for the webpage data segment for a second predetermined time period.
 20. The systemof claim 11, wherein the providing unit is configured to, in response toa request from the individual user terminal for a next page or aprevious page, retrieve a corresponding web page data segment from thefirst storage unit and transmit the corresponding web page data segmentto the individual user terminal.
 21. The system of claim 11, wherein themanagement unit is configured to update the reader information toindicate the new last transmitted web page data segment in response to adesignation of an end of reading by the individual user or theindividual user terminal.
 22. The system of claim 11, wherein the readerinformation further comprises a bookmark flag or a repeat flag, whereinthe bookmark flag indicates a designation of continuous provision ofwebpage data segments subsequent to the last transmitted web page datasegment upon the start of the new session, and wherein the repeat flagindicates a designation that the head page of the last transmitted webpage data segment is to be transmitted upon the start of the newsession.
 23. The system of claim 11, wherein the providing unit isconfigured to compare user information submitted by the individual userto the ID information stored in the second storage unit to determine ifthe individual user is a registered user.
 24. A method for providinginformation, said method comprising: storing a web page data segment ata first storage unit; storing ID information at a second storage unit,wherein the ID information corresponds to an individual user or anindividual user terminal; storing reader information at a database,wherein the reader information comprises an indication of a lasttransmitted web page data segment; and date/time informationrepresenting a date and time when the reader information was lastupdated; retrieving the web page data segment from the first storageunit in response to a command from the individual user terminal;transmitting the retrieved web page data segment to the individual userterminal; and updating the reader information to indicate a new lasttransmitted web page data segment; wherein, if a predetermined timeperiod has lapsed since the date and time when the reader informationwas last updated, the transmitting step comprises transmitting to theindividual user terminal a plurality of sequential web page datasegments beginning at a head page of the web page data segmentsextending to a web page data segment that is a predetermined number ofweb page data segments subsequent to a most recently transmitted webpage data segment indicated by the date/time information.
 25. The methodof claim 24, wherein the first storage unit is a web page storage unit,and wherein the second storage unit is a user ID storage unit.
 26. Themethod of claim 25, wherein the web page data segment is a web page datasegment immediately subsequent to the last transmitted web page datasegment.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the retrieving stepcomprises retrieving a web page data segment subsequent to the lasttransmitted web page data segment in response to a corresponding commandreceived from the individual user terminal, and wherein the transmittingstep comprises transmitting the web page data segment subsequent to thelast transmitted web page data segment in response to the correspondingcommand.
 28. The method of claim 25, wherein the transmitting stepcomprises transmitting the retrieved web page data segment based atleast in part on the ID information corresponding to the individual userterminal.
 29. The method of claim 25, wherein the updating stepcomprises updating the reader information to indicate the new lasttransmitted web page data segment in response to the transmission of theretrieved web page data segment.
 30. The method of claim 25, furthercomprising deleting at least a portion of the stored ID informationcorresponding to the individual user or the individual user terminal ifthe individual user or the individual user terminal does not issue arequest for the web page data segment for a second predetermined timeperiod.
 31. The method of claim 25, further comprising, in response to arequest from the individual user or individual user terminal for a nextpage or a previous page, retrieving a corresponding web page datasegment from the first storage unit and transmitting the correspondingweb page data segment to the individual user terminal.
 32. The method ofclaim 25, further comprising updating the reader information to indicatethe new last transmitted web page data segment in response to adesignation of an end of reading by the individual user or theindividual user terminal.
 33. The method of claim 25, further comprisingcomparing user information submitted by the individual user to the IDinformation stored in the second storage unit to determine if theindividual user is a registered user.
 34. An information providingsystem, the system comprising: an information providing apparatuscomprising a first storage unit configured to store a web page datasegment; an second storage unit configured to store ID informationcorresponding to an individual user or individual user terminal; adatabase configured to store reader information, wherein the readerinformation comprises an indication of a last transmitted web page datasegment; and date/time information representing a date and time when thereader information was last updated; a providing unit configured toretrieve the web page data segment from the first storage unit inresponse to a command from the individual user terminal; and transmitthe retrieved web page data segment to the individual user terminal; anda management unit configured to update the reader information toindicate a new last transmitted web page data segment; wherein, upon astart of a new session, if a predetermined time period has lapsed sincethe date and time when the reader information was last updated, theproviding unit transmits to the individual user terminal a plurality ofsequential web page data segments beginning at a head page of the webpage data segments and extending to a web page data segment that is apredetermined number of web page data segments subsequent to a mostrecently transmitted web page data segment indicated by the date/timeinformation; and the individual user terminal configured to individuallyreceive at a respective individual timing the transmitted web page datasegment.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the individual userterminal comprises: a browser configured to receive and display thetransmitted web page data segment; and an information generatorconfigured to generate a designation of the last transmitted web pagedata segment for transmission to the information providing apparatus.36. The system of claim 34, wherein the providing unit is configured to,in response to a request from the individual user terminal for a nextpage or a previous page, retrieve a corresponding web page data segmentfrom the first storage unit and transmit the corresponding web page datasegment to the individual user terminal.
 37. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium having stored thereon, computerexecutable instructions that, if executed by a computing device, causethe computing device to perform a method comprising: storing a web pagedata segment at a first storage unit; storing ID information at a secondstorage unit, wherein the ID information corresponds to an individualuser or an individual user terminal; storing reader information at adatabase, wherein the reader information comprises an indication of alast transmitted web page data segment; and date/time informationrepresenting a date and time when the reader information was lastupdated; retrieving the web page data segment from the first storageunit in response to a command from the individual user terminal;transmitting the retrieved web page data segment to the individual userterminal; and updating the reader information to indicate a new lasttransmitted web page data segment; wherein, if a predetermined timeperiod has lapsed since the date and time when the reader informationwas last updated, the transmitting step comprises transmitting to theindividual user terminal a plurality of sequential web page datasegments beginning at a head page of the web page data segments andextending to a web page data segment that is a predetermined number ofweb page data segments subsequent to a most recently transmitted webpage data segment indicated by the date/time information.
 38. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 37, wherein the web page datasegment is a web page data segment immediately subsequent to the lasttransmitted web page data segment.
 39. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 37, wherein the updating step comprises updating thereader information to indicate the new last transmitted web page datasegment in response to the transmission of the retrieved web page datasegment.
 40. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 37, whereinthe computer executable instructions cause the computing device toperform the method further comprising, in response to a request from theindividual user or individual user terminal for a next page or aprevious page, retrieving a corresponding web page data segment from thefirst storage unit and transmitting the corresponding web page datasegment to the individual user terminal.